Sometimes I feel like I live in overwhelm, and in this current season, it’s escalated even more. If tempers are flaring up between family members, you feel like you have too much to do, and you find yourself going into a room to complete one task and seeing 3 others that need your attention, I feel you! It’s hard when you’re a self-motivated, busybody to slow down, put intention behind your tasks, and implement routines that help with the overwhelm. Today, I’m sharing a quick overview of three simple routines I do to help with the overwhelm and to calm my spirit:
Number 1: Do 1 load of laundry a day – Does your laundry get overwhelming? If you have more than 2 people living in your home, I would bet that it does at times! And without a system with laundry, we fall behind and it literally piles up and makes a mess. Do 1 load a day to get ahead! I try to do to towels and bathroom rugs 1x a week and to keep those fresh in the bathroom. I do one child’s clothes one day, fold it and put it away, and then the other child’s the next. I do our laundry when the bin starts to fill up (or my husband asks me for clean socks!). I don’t have a specific day to do any certain person’s clothes, but as they need laundry done. I just make a point to visually take inventory on their hampers every day as I put other things away. Try this and let me know if it helps!
Number 2: Read a book every night for 10-30 minutes – Ending the day with a good book is something to look forward to and it moves the needle on all the books you say you’re going to read this year =) Don’t shame yourself into reading a certain number of chapters each night. Some nights you’ll only be able to keep your eyes open for 10 minutes and that’s great! Other nights, you won’t be able to put it down. But this daily practice grounds me and settles my soul because my phone isn’t on and I’m solely focused on this one thing. I’ve been known to say, “go for 3 pages a day in your book.” It seems like such a small amount but if you go for 3, you’ll likely read 5-10 pages or finish a chapter and read more! And nothing makes me feel better (and calmer) than curling up with a good book.
Number 3: Keep a morning routine – Getting up early, doing my workout, writing my Word for the day and doing my skincare routine makes a huge difference in my mood. I feel like I can accomplish everything that needs to get done. And sometimes the most important part of taming the overwhelm is taming your thoughts. And getting ready trains my brain to think that I feel more able to tackle the day. I don’t feel behind. My soul is settled with these simple steps. My typical morning routine is:
5:15 – get up
5:30 – 6:15 – run/walk/workout
6:15-6:30 – grab coffee
6:30-7 – shower, do skincare routine, dry hair (I straighten it after the boys eat breakfast)
7-8 – breakfast for boys, devotion time!
See if one of these doesn’t settle your soul! And if you have your own to add to this list, comment below or email me at tobin.kel@gmail.com and let me know what you do to calm the overwhelm.
